"Jett, what the hell did you do to my room?"

Jett peeps his head around my doorframe, a sheepish smile on his face. "Hey, you're back!"

"Yeah." I drop my suitcase on the wooden floor and place my hands on my hips. "Where's all my stuff?"

"Look," he pauses, "Jonas, Elliott, and I have been working on a movie for the past three months. Your room was the perfect space to do our filming. I promise I'll have everything back in place by summer."

"Well, where am I supposed to sleep for the next week?" I ask and look around at the bare floors and two tripods set up in the center of the floor. "On the comfy stack of green screen bed sheets?"

Jett smiles and points to me. "You, my friend, get to sleep in the best place in this entire house." He pauses for unnecessary dramatic effect. "My top bunk!"

I frown. "Are you being serious?"

"Come on, Ivy," he pleads. "If you complain, Uncle Val and Aunt Lucy will make us put everything back, and we'll probably never finish our movie. And if we do, I won't thank you when we win our Oscar."

I roll my eyes and pick up my suitcase. "Fine. But I get the bottom bunk."

He opens his mouth to object, but knows better than to test me after he de-roomed my room. I go into Jett's room to put my suitcase on the bed before heading back downstairs. With Elm at my heels, I sit down in front of the TV to relax.

This is how I want to spend my spring break.

"Nora leaves for Mexico tonight," Jett says as he joins me in the family room. "Then it'll just be me and you, baby boo."

I laugh. "Right. Are all of your friends going on vacation?"

"Pretty much. The Kennedy's are going to Haiti to join their mom's missionary work for the week. It'd be so sick to go."

"Yeah, definitely."

"But you know what's even better?" He waits, staring at me for a few seconds. "Getting to spend a whole week with my half-sister."

I pout my lip and lunge forward to grab him in a tight hug. "Aw, J!" I kiss the top of his head before letting him go. "We'll have so much more fun than anyone else going to some warm, nice place."

He smiles. "Whatever keeps the tears from falling at night."

Nora gets home from school exactly one Keeping Up with the Kardashians episode later. Jett and I help her pack, because of course she didn't pack in advance. Her flight leaves at eight tonight, so she has to be dropped off at the airport a little after 6.

"I hate that I'm leaving tonight. We didn't get anytime to catch up. So much has happened!" Nora exasperates, plopping down on her bed. "Have I even told you about all the Elliott drama?"

"Nope. And I don't think I care too much to hear it. It's best I stay far away from that boy and anything that has to do with him," I sigh.

It's a lot easier to forget how much you care about someone when they're no longer in your life. We haven't seen each other in three months, not since he dropped me off at my dorm that night. Keeping our distance was easy to do thanks to the forty-eight hour car drive between us. Of course I've been social media stalking; that's a given. Elliott sucks at social media, however, so I didn't really get too much information from him.

But luckily there's Yogi, a highly-esteemed-social-media-icon. He posts all the time. And recently Elliott has been hanging around the cliff again. I always see him drinking, followed by a video of him drunkenly rapping the same song: Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. 

"He's dating someone."

I raise my eyebrows, pretending to be more shocked than hurt. "Yeah?"

It hurts, even when I know it shouldn't. I was the one who told him we couldn't be together with this long distance relationship. He had every right to move on with someone new. I guess I just hadn't been thinking about any relationship at school and assumed he hadn't either.

Nora nods. "It's a very new relationship; they don't even consider themselves boyfriend and girlfriend. Flynn hasn't been able to meet her, but he said that Elliott's family doesn't really like her."

"Hm, I wonder why not," I say casually. Nora and Jett give me a look. I don't catch on quick enough. "What? Am I missing something?"

"Ivy," Jett says, "you're why."

I shake my head and fold one of Nora's shirts. "Oh, guys, come on. You're not being serious, right?"

"I mean, it makes sense," Nora says slowly. "They love you like part of their family, Ivy. They don't want to see Elliott with anyone else."

I frown. It does make sense, but I'd hate to be the one responsible for their not liking this girl. I don't know her, but I'm sure she's nice, as long as she's nothing like Carter.

"Well, as long as he's happy with her," I say, trying my best to seem unbothered. There's no point in lying to Jett and Nora. They see right through me time after time.

Jett pats my back. "I'll sacrifice my break to help you meet a new boo. Dating apps are more successful than you think."

"Jett, I'm don't need dating apps. I don't even need a man right now," I say confidently. "I'm happy just going to school and hanging out with my friends and family."

"Do you even have friends?"

I raise my eyebrows and look to Nora to see if she also heard Jett's rude question. Nora shrugs and folds a shirt into her suitcase. I look back at Jett with squinted eyes. "Yes, I have friends, dingus."

"I know you do. I mean close friends." He sighs. "We all know you had some problems with that during high school."

"That was when all I did was work and school and more work. And-and I don't have super close friends, but that's just because I've only known them for three months."

"You only knew Elliott for two months when you started dating him," Jett points out.

Nora throws an arm around her brother and pulls him to her side. "Love is different, brother. Love is different."

~~

Nora left after dinner for the airport. Since Vic and Jackie were away on a work trip, it really was just Jett and I. I let Jett pick what we would do over the break, and he made a list of over twenty different things.

Night one: Watch Spring Breakers.

After putting the popcorn in the microwave, I search for a bowl. Lucy must've rearranged the kitchen recently because nothing is as I remember. As I'm digging through all the drawers in the kitchen, the lights go out.

Jett screams. I scream. Elm barks.

I grab my phone and put on the flashlight to lead me back to the family room without bumping into anything. Elm jumped on the couch and is lying on top of Jett. I sit next to them and let out a sigh.

"Well, this isn't ideal," I say. "I'll try calling the Wests to see if their power is out as well."

I press Mikey's contact and give him a call. He answers on the last ring.

"Talk to me."

"Hey, Mike. You at home?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Our power went out. Is yours out too?" I ask, petting Elm to calm him down.

"Uh, no," he says. "Do you want me to come over with some flashlights or candles or something?"

"I think we're okay. Thanks, Mikey."

"Sure thing, Ivy. Just call me if you need anything. You know my mom misses you. Make sure to stop by sometime during your break."

I nod. "Will do. Say hi to your parents for me. Bye, bud."

"Bye."

I end the call and look to Jett. "Just us, J."

"Maybe it's our street." He stands up and looks out the window. "Dammit! The Nelson's are watching TV!" He drops his shoulders. "I've seen this in horror movies, Ivy. We're going to die."

I frown. "Don't be so melodramatic. It could've been a circuit overload or something."

"Or," he pauses, "someone cut the power so they could break in and murder us."

"You are the worst person to be home alone with, you know that?" I snap. "I'm going to go check circuits downstairs."

He jumps off the couch to grab my arm. "No! Don't leave me to die!"

"Elm will protect you," I say, gesturing to the panting pup.

"Ivy, I swear, if you-"

There's a loud knocking on the door.

I'd be lying if I said Jett didn't freak me out. He's done this before, when Elliott tried climbing in my window. Of course there had to be a creepy knocking at the door.

"Maybe it's another neighbor whose power went out," I suggest, doing my best to stay calm and reasonable.

The pounding continues.

Elm jumps off the couch to run to the door, barking relentlessly. And suddenly the knocking stops.

I follow Elm and peer out the window. There is no one at the front door. Jett raises his eyebrows, a blanket wrapped tightly around him. I frown and try to decide what to do.

"Okay. Let's hide."

We run upstairs to hide in Nora's walk-in closet. Elm follows us upstairs, though it risks us getting caught. The three of us stay as quiet as possible.

I hear someone in my room. They must've come through my window. Now my heart rate is through the roof. Jett moves closer to me, clutching one of Nora's stilettos to use as a weapon.

"Hey, is anyone home?" a raspy voice asks loudly. "Jett?"

Elm barks and runs out of the closet.

"RIP us," Jett whispers, hugging me tightly. "I love you, Ives." He pulls out his phone and starts texting 'ily' to all of his friends.

I take out my phone, planning on calling for help. My fingers take their own course, and my thumb hovers over his name, Elliott Kennedy. I feel betrayed by my own hands.

Jett stops texting to look at what's on my phone. "You'd call Elliott in your final moments?"

I shake my head and leave his contact name. I call 911. "The power is out in my house. I think someone broke in."

"Jett?" The voice is closer, yet still unrecognizable. He stops walking and instead starts coughing intensely. The coughing turns into sneezing.

"He's vulnerable right now. I should attack," Jett whispers.

"Just wait for the police."

"They'll take too long, Ivy. I have to do this. I have to protect you."

The sneezing stops and the man walks downstairs. I hear water running in the kitchen. The man must've poured himself a glass of water.

"No," I argue, grabbing Jett's hand to pull him back down. "I'm your big sister." I stand up and take the stiletto from Jett.

He grabs the matching shoe and stands with me. "Together."

I nod. "Okay. I'll go first."

We creep our way downstairs, praying we won't make too much noise. Just as we make it to the kitchen, there are aggressive knocks on the door before two police officers come running in.

They go straight to the hooded burglar, pointing their guns at him. "Put your hands up!"

"You got to be kidding me," I mutter when he turns around, his hands shaking with fear.

"I-I don't know what's happening. I-" Elliott's eyes meet mine and the smallest of smiles falls on his face. It's the worst time for that. "Ivy, hey! I didn't know you were home!" He- stupidly- drops his hands to walk towards me.

The bigger officers stops him and tugs his arms behind his back to handcuff him. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law-"

"Jesus Christ," Elliott whispers under his breath when he is pushed against the fridge.

"Uh, I know him," I say awkwardly, kind of intimidated by this big officer. "This is all a misunderstanding."

"He didn't break into your house?"

"Well, he did," I ramble nervously, "but he's not a burglar or anything. He's our friend. I-I'm sorry. We thought he was a murderer. That's why I called. I'm sorry. Please, let him go."

The police man lets go of Elliott and sighs deeply. "We're very busy people, lady. We don't appreciate false alarms."

I smile and nod throughout the entire talk. I've heard it before, back when Mikey prank called the police and told them I was hurting him because he didn't want to take a bath. Yeah, fun times.

After the lecture, the two police officers take off. Elliott stays behind. I notice the bag of candles and flashlights on the kitchen counter.

"Again, I'm so sorry for this mistake. I promise I'll be more careful next time. Thank you for coming," I say, shutting the door after the officers leave.

Jett and Elliott sit at the kitchen counter. They're engaged in a conversation about the movie they're making in my room.

"Ivy, I'm very sorry. I thought Jett was home alone tonight and my power was out too, so I wanted to make sure he was okay."

I nod and sit on the counter across from them. "Yeah, well, you're still an idiot for breaking into the house."

He tries to hide a smile. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"I thought you were going to Haiti," Jett says.

"My mom didn't want me to go because of this stupid cold," he says and points to his red nose. "So now I'm stuck house sitting."

That would explain why we didn't recognize his voice when he called out Jett's name.

"Well, thanks for bringing the lights. It was nice seeing you," I mumble, hoping he takes the hint and gets out.

He nods and slides off the stool. "Yeah. Thanks for almost getting me arrested."

"Anytime."

We walk to the front door, and Elliott spins around to face me with his hand on the doorknob. I cross my arms over my chest and wait for the awkward conversation to begin.

"How's school?"

"Good," I answer. "How's work?"

"It's work."

"I heard you got a promotion." He nods. "And a girlfriend." I had to.

He bites his bottom lip. "Uh, sort of. We're just casually dating."

"You can ask her to be your girlfriend... if you want."

"Thanks for the permission," he says with a smirk.

I squeeze my eyes shut. "Okay, that's not exactly what I meant. I just... I don't want you to not ask her because you think I don't want you to."

"I know, Ivy."

"It's great that you're dating," I lie. "I'm happy for you." The latter isn't a lie.

"I know you are, Ivy." He smiles sweetly, not even knowing how much it breaks my heart.

"Okay. Goodbye."

"And you? Are you dating?"

"Uh," I pause, "I talk to boys on occasion."

He chuckles and looks at me with so much love, though that's just his look. "Attagirl."

"I've just been really busy with my schoolwork and all. You know how it is."

"No, I never did schoolwork," he says with a smile. "But I can only imagine."

"Right."

"Well, I'm really happy I got to see you again, Ivy. It's been awhile. I was worried that college might've changed you."

I lift my palms up to the ceiling and shrug. "Looks like I'm the same awkward girl you left in her dorm three months ago."

"Good," he says and wears a warm smile. "See you around, kid." He walks backwards three steps before spinning around and crossing the street to his house.

I close the front door and press my back against it. "Kid?"

Jett peers his head around the corner. "Ouch."

"Yeah, ouch," I mutter.

"So, what are your thoughts on dating apps again?"

Eventually, the lights turned back on. That's when it started. Jett and I downloaded two different dating apps and created an account for Match.com. It was actually more fun than it should've been creating the accounts.

When I get out of my shower, Jett is waiting at the door with a wide smile on his face.

"What?" I ask, holding the towel around my body and walking to 'our' room.

"Guess who got fifteen matches in this area."

"Fifteen?" I shake my head. "Jett, how do we know they're not all creeps?"

He shrugs. "Trial and error."

"Well, what are you suggesting? I go on fifteen different dates this week, even though I may possible end up with a serial killer?"

"I'm not saying that. You can pick which ones you think are cute and safe. I have three favorites already and one wild card."

I laugh and push him out of the room so I can change. Downstairs, I meet Jett in the family room where he is typing away on my laptop. On my phone, I have a few notifications from Tinder.

"There's four more matches on this one," I say with a groan.

"Yes! You'll be like the next Bachelorette, only your experience isn't documented and shown to millions."

Jett and I stay up until three in the morning picking four different guys to set up dates with. I matched with a lot cute boys, although I could be getting catfished. I'm surprised that so many people are on these dating apps and cites.

I wake up the next morning sprawled out on the couch with Elm over my feet. Jett is on the floor using a bag of marshmallows as a pillow. I get up and give Elm a kiss. I kick Jett's leg to wake him up.

"Hey, how's my favorite bachelorette doing?" Jett says, the a morning person side of him showing. "Are you ready to meet the man of your dreams?"

I roll my eyes and walk to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Jett follows me with his annoying announcer voice. "Will it be Colson, the working-class man from the town over? Or will it be Jayden, the fun-loving adventurist? But there's still the handsome and exotic Theo, who graduated just a year before you at your very same high school? And who can fail to mention the one and only Atticus, a small town boy with big city dreams?"

"You are so weird, J," I laugh. "Who's the first date with?"

"Theo. He wants to take you somewhere casually romantic. I suggested McDonalds."

"Jett."

"Kidding. He's taking you to some fancy restaurant I've never heard of where you'll probably eat snails or some shit."

I nod. "Romantic." I stop and hold Jett by both of his shoulders. "Yet done casually."

And so the dates began.

Theo's date started things... Yeah, it just started things. Don't get me wrong. He was truly a great guy, and I see how we matched. The issue wasn't with him, but with my toxic stomach that couldn't handle the exotic foods... at all. I spent more time in the bathroom than on the date.

No kiss.

Next date was with Colson. We should not have matched. We had nothing in common, which meant nothing to talk about, which meant Ivy was horribly awkward and uncomfortable. As was Colson. It's a shame. He was super hot. Too bad I accidentally said that out loud during our walk to the car.

No kiss.

Feeling less confident, I went out with Jayden. We actually had a really great time. I thought he was funny and sweet and interesting. The conversation really flowed. Things were going great until his boyfriend showed up and threw Jayden's ice cream at my chest and ruined my new top.

No kiss.

"This is hopeless," I mutter, preparing for my last date.

"No it's not. You're getting back out on the field, Ives. That's really all that matters," Jett reminds. "You're not doing this to find a serious, serious boyfriend. Let's just kiss Atticus tonight, okay?"

I fix my hair. "Not if it doesn't feel right."

"Ivy, you're so lame!"

I stick out my tongue and grab my purse off the ledge. Atticus is waiting at the front door, flowers in his hands.

"Flowers," Jett comments, "nice touch." He rips the flowers out of the boy's hands and leaves for the kitchen.

"Sorry about him," I apologize and close the front door. "He's losing it spending so much time at home during spring break."

Atticus laughs and opens his car door for me. "I get it. My family never went on vacations and I was always the one kid stuck at home. At least he has his sister to keep him company."

"You're an only child?" I